Craig Hallum Issues Positive Forecast for Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Stock Price

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Craig Hallum from $121.00 to $157.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s target price indicates a potential downside of 5.65% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NTRA. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Natera from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Natera from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Natera from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.29.

Natera Stock Up 23.2 %

NTRA stock traded up $31.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $166.41. 1,838,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,316,152. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.52. Natera has a 52-week low of $49.97 and a 52-week high of $166.93. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The medical research company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.57) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $439.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.43 million. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.88% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. Natera’s quarterly revenue was up 63.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natera will post -1.96 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,783,235.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 1,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.21, for a total value of $141,379.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,085,255.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Sheena sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $1,452,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 287,441 shares in the company, valued at $34,783,235.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,464 shares of company stock worth $5,849,977. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 13.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,460,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $483,034,000 after purchasing an additional 532,874 shares during the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Natera by 295.9% during the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 656,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after acquiring an additional 490,822 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Natera by 257.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 651,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,553,000 after acquiring an additional 469,327 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Natera by 53.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 958,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,783,000 after purchasing an additional 334,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Natera by 311.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 406,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,036,000 after buying an additional 307,920 shares during the period. 99.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natera Company Profile

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.